SOCCER/FA Premiership, Charlton 0 Manchester Utd 3: In these early matches the Manchester United players are like men giving themselves a prolonged pep talk. The willpower, they pray, is being built that could regain the Premiership title and the leadership of the table will be savoured, as well as Chelsea's discomfort.
The levels of joy were almost dangerously high when, after years of injury, the substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to scoring in the top flight by notching the third goal from Louis Saha's cut-back.
Much as Alex Ferguson disliked the circumstances, this was a chance for United to show the resourcefulness needed to put up a proper fight for the title.
In addition to the suspensions of Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes, United had to do without their influential right-back, Gary Neville, whose muscle problems began before the World Cup finals and have never quite relented since. A line-up thereby trimmed slightly of flair and experience was meeting a Charlton team in its first home Premiership match under the new manager, Iain Dowie.
While in charge of Crystal Palace, he had held United to a goalless draw at home two seasons ago. There was some trace of that obstinacy about Charlton prior to the interval. The visitors were more fluent without being formidable immediately. Their most obvious hope of individualism lay with Cristiano Ronaldo.
When an onslaught by United did develop, he was to the fore and hit the bar with a shot in the 44th minute. Moments later, he should have headed home from a Ryan Giggs corner instead of missing the target.
Prior to that, there had been cause for Charlton supporters to appreciate Dowie for getting Scott Carson here on loan from Liverpool.
The goalkeeper saved a Park Ji-Sung shot from a shrewd Wes Brown pass after 23 minutes, even though he would have been helpless if the South Korean's header from a cross by the same United full back had not been placed wide seconds before.
While United had not conjured the instant mayhem inflicted on Fulham, it was troubling for Charlton to see them gradually stepping up their performance. Dowie's team had attacked wholeheartedly on occasion, without showing the finesse that occasionally flickered into life for United.
Charlton not only failed to check the momentum of the visitors but were at fault when conceding the opener a minute after the interval.
Park sent in a testing low cross from the right and Jonathan Fortune was unable to clear. Credit, though had to go to Darren Fletcher, whose opportunity to play had presumably arisen from Scholes' ban. He was highly composed as he gathered the loose ball and drove home.
United merited a greater advantage than the one they held and the woodwork was once more required to come up with some stalwart defending for Charlton. The far post had to get itself in the way of a Park volley in the 58th minute after the inventive Ronaldo had unpicked the defence on the left and hoisted a deep cross.
Charlton did have an appeal for a penalty when a header hit the raised hand of Brown, but United posed the enduring threat, even if the comfort of a second goal was rather elusive.
Saha was exact with eight minutes left, getting the room to collect Wes Brown's cross, turn and fire into the corner of the net from the edge of the area.
By then there was also the fillip for United of seeing Michael Carrick come on for his competitive debut, having recovered from the ankle injury he suffered in the Amsterdam tournament. The club needs all the as the men it can muster.
CHARLTON: Carson, Young, El Karkouri, Fortune, Hreidarsson, Hughes, Holland, Faye (Rommedahl 82), Ambrose, Hasselbaink (Marcus Bent 65), Darren Bent. Subs Not Used: Myhre, Kishishev, Lisbie. Booked: Hreidarsson.
MAN UTD: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Evra, Fletcher, Park (Carrick 77), O'Shea, Giggs (Solskjaer 82), Saha, Ronaldo. Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Rossi, Richardson. Booked: Brown. Goals: Fletcher 49, Saha 80, Solskjaer 90.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).
